Alibaba Needs Solid Small- to Medium-Size Business Base to Take on Amazon in US, Says EMarketer

Alibaba’s news that it’s welcoming U.S. sellers to its business-to-business marketplace “shows the Chinese retail giant’s desire to diversify its product offering,” said eMarketer analyst Jillian Ryan Tuesday. About 90 percent of goods sold on the Alibaba marketplace are from China-based factories manufacturing goods to order for buyers across the globe, said Ryan: “Buyers on the platform are from developed nations like the US, Canada, India, Australia, Brazil and the UK, and these buyers want to be able to source goods from the US," said the analyst. The Alibaba website said Tuesday the company is offering “new ways for US businesses to thrive,” via its improved customer experience. It invited businesses to participate in nationwide workshops, special offers and services and receive up to $500 off seller packages. The initiative gives companies access to “millions of buyers,” and allows them to showcase their storefront on Alibaba.com and “start getting traffic” from the site’s “massive global search engine.” Alibaba will provide digital marketing tools and help business optimize campaigns with “in-depth data and analysis,” it said. Ryan noted Alibaba has a few select pilot sellers for the project and “anchor sellers” in Office Depot and Robinson Fresh, but said to be successful against Amazon, Alibaba needs to recruit a meaningful number of small- to medium-size businesses.